Snapshots
by West of the Boulevard
Summary: Sanpshot scenes of various romantic/family/friendship pairings in the TVD universe. First Chapter- Damon & Katherine. Requests welcome and encouraged.


**Details at end of chapter.**

Part I - Damon & Katherine

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.  
**James Stephens**

With the final word she spoke, only deafening silence followed. He had been to war—he had seen some of the most disturbing things the world had to offer. And yet, nothing he had ever seen could measure up to the disgust rising in his stomach. She had murdered Stefan's fiancée Rosalyn and probably countless others for nothing more than a thrill. His Katherine-the girl who had captured his heart, the innocent beauty full of light and purity. And there she was, barely clothed, sauntering towards him as if to make this information easier to process. He fell completely rigid at her touch, and the soothing sound of her voice only increased the fear. He pushed her away violently, completely disregarding her as anyone worthy of his respect, and paced towards his mirror. "You are fake," he spat, "It's all fake. All of it."

Even through all of his outbursts, violence and disbelief she never broke eye contact. "Most of it," she admitted, and he turned back to her, startled to hear his suspicions confirmed. "With them—your father, the town and Stefan. Not with you, Damon. Never with you."

"I don't believe you," he stated, "Katherine—I just, I can't."

"Do I frighten you, Damon? You could destroy me with this information—run me out of town, have me hanged for murder. And yet," she whispered eloquently as she appeared behind the mirror, "I told you. What does that mean to you?"

"I don't pretend to understand the minds of the deranged," he stuttered, his subconscious moving him further and further away as she drew closer. "How can you ask me to concede this? I will never accept this; I will never accept you."

"Let me prove it to you, Damon. Let me show you that…" but the statement remained unfinished, their bodies now so close that he froze, leaving his safety up to the gods of fate. The hands that had once felt so warm and comforting now just felt cold and empty. She touched his cheek, guiding his mouth down to kiss her. He had barely grazed her lips before he pulled away, hesitation written all over his face.

"That is not how you prove your love, Katherine," he whispered, "I know you enjoy that. Prove to me that you enjoy me, as a person, and I will consider my affections."

It took a moment, but she did back away from him, content that she had done as much as she could. As she hurried to the door, he called out to her, bewildered that she would ever leave her fate up to him. "How can you trust that I won't betray you? You don't strike me as one for blind faith."

She smiled, amused by his bold question. "I know you, Damon. Your curiosity far outweighs your sense of morality."

_/_

His finger bent across the tip of the black key, resting gently against its smooth surface. He did this often; the touch sent a shiver of relief down his spine. He sat on the piano bench more than once a week, but had only played once in the last ten years. It had been two days since his night with Katherine, and he had not seen her since. He had spent most of his time locked in the upstairs study filling pages of parchment with inconclusive thoughts and ramblings about the predicament. He should have gone to his Father straight away—given it nary another thought. But her words circled the insides of his mind-tempting him, taunting him and torturing him. Would he give in to her carefully constructed remarks on his person? Would he succumb to everything she thought him to be? No; he had more dignity than that. He would tell his Father and let the town have their way with her. She was wrong. He was not weak. He would not be played a fool. He would not—

"Damon?" Since her voice had been penetrating his mind so frequently, he at first believed the voice to be imagined. But he could feel her presence behind him, and turned sharply to face her. He plastered on a fake smile, luring her into a false sense of security. He had learned time and time again that your best chance at undermining the enemy is a well placed façade.

"Katherine," he acknowledged, as nonchalantly as he could muster. "Please, come sit."

She raised an eyebrow, but obliged nevertheless. "I've never seen you play," she remarked. "Are you any good?"

Damon looked down at the keys in front of him, memories lingering in the back of his mind. "I used to play often, when my mother was still alive. She was a very skilled pianist, and wished for her son to aspire to the same." He at once forgot about his plans to beguile Katherine, and instead stared intensely into the depths of her eyes, not sure what he intended to find.

"And did her wish for her son come to pass?" Katherine asked, an amused smile playing at her lips.

"Your eyes," Damon murmured, ignoring Katherine's question completely. "They remind me of her. They are a strikingly similar shade of brown." He was no longer speaking to her, but to himself, entranced in the memories that her eye colour evoked in his subconcious.

Katherine leaned in closer, and whispered so delicately, "Does that please you?"

Damon nodded in affirmation, his instincts pulling him closer and closer to her.

"You know, I am a rather skilled pianist myself, Damon." Her voice at normal volume seemed to snap him out his trance at once, and he realized they were close enough that their lips were mere inches away.

"I apologize, Miss Katherine," he said solemnly, "I seem to be more emotional tonight than I would have wished."

"Never apologize, Damon—it makes you look foolish and weak." A long silence fell upon them, as Damon contemplated how best to react. "I could play for you," Katherine suggested, motioning towards the piano keys in front of him. He did not even try to mask his disbelief at her abrupt suggestion. "Don't look so surprised, Damon. I've taken up many leisure activities during my centuries on this earth—boredom is the primary pitfall of eternity."

"And what are the other pitfalls?" Damon asked scathingly.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she pushed him aside, the intoxicating scent of her hair overpowering every rational thought in his mind. How could something so positively beautiful be so sinfully wrong?

And as she played one flawless chord after another, he made his decision. Just one more day of staring into the complexities of her eyes, and admiring the way her hair glistened through the sunlight streaming through the window, and basking in the radiating intensity of her smile when she was amused by something he said. One more day would be enough; and then he would tell his Father everything. He would do the right thing—the moral thing. Just one more day. That would be enough.

* * *

So this is my new TVD story called 'Snapshots'. The basic idea for this story is that every chapter will be centered around a different pairing of characters, and focus on a snapshot of their relationship. This story will hopefully be centered around requests. So, I welcome and encourage anyone to make a request for a pairing they would like to see.

A couple simple guidelines:

**1. **I don't write smut. Sorry. This fic is going to be rated M, but only because this is TVD and the future chapters will most likely hold some detailed violence and minor sexual situations. But don't be expecting anything graphic-that's not what this story is about. So please don't ask for it.

**2. **If you ask for two characters that are related, I will not be making it a romantic snapshot.

**3. **Feel free to ask for any two characters as long as they have a name and have been a main character in at least one TVD scene (scene, not episode) throughout any of the 3 seasons. Also feel free to specify if you want this snapshot to be romantic, familial, friendship-oriented or otherwise as long as it does not contradict Guideline 2.

**4. **You can also request a quote if you find one that you think goes nicely with the pairing you want.

And if I don't get any requests, I'll just be doing random pairings until I do get one. :)

Hope you enjoyed the D/K snapshot, and I look forward to writing more for you.


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